KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in KLA Corporation by 18.9%, now owning about 0.09% of the company, valued at approximately $77.55 million.
• KLA recently authorized a $5 billion stock buyback program, signaling management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company's quarterly dividend was raised to $1.90 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend and representing a yield of 0.82%.

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 18.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 114,083 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,095 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.09% of KLA worth $77,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 1.6% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,260,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 836 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $568,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 251.9% in the 1st quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 17,138 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $11,650,000 after purchasing an additional 12,268 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.7% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 286,801 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $194,967,000 after purchasing an additional 4,719 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 41.4% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,773 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,983 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $7.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $886.64. 1,474,586 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 908,113. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm's 50-day moving average is $872.48 and its 200-day moving average is $767.52. The stock has a market cap of $117.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.44. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $945.87.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.85. KLA had a return on equity of 119.79% and a net margin of 33.41%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,035.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on KLA from $916.00 to $928.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $890.59.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection.